Firefighters Urge Water Safety After 2 Boys Drown At Lake Overholser

After an hours-long search, the bodies of two children were recovered from Lake Overholser. The body of the first child was recovered Monday night, and the other was found early Tuesday morning.

According to police, the four boys were at the lake fishing and celebrating a birthday. Two of the boys decided to swim while the other two stayed on the shore. One of the boys who was swimming lost a shoe, so all the boys went in to get it. This led to all of the boys getting swept away in the current.

Police shut down the bridge that crosses Lake Overholser, at Northwest 10th Street, as they investigated.

Now, we’re hearing from the Oklahoma City Fire Department on some tips to stay safe if you’re taking to the water this summer.

“Just a tragic incident,” said Scott Douglas, District Chief for OKC Fire Department. “These boys just weren't aware of the dangers in front of them. They were just trying to have some innocent fun; they just weren't aware of the dangers that were lurking.”

Douglas says when the four boys began swimming in the lake, the current swept up the youngest boys. They tried to hold onto a log floating in the water, but were taken under by the strong current.

“The turbulent waters pulled them underneath,” said Douglas.

One of the boys was found after 8 pm last night, and the second boy recovered just after midnight. Douglas says both of them were found between 800-2800 feet from where they went under the water.

“He was about 2800 feet from the dam just south of the 10th street bridge,” said Douglas.

After hours of searching, this wasn’t the outcome anybody was hoping for.

“Firefighters don't want to respond to these, we're trained, we're prepared for these instances when they do come in,” said Douglas.

Year round these firefighters are training for the worst case scenario.

“All our firefighters are well trained on all the lakes, rivers, streams across all of the metro,” said Douglas.

Many of the lakes, including Lake Overholser, don’t allow swimming at all.

“There's a reason for these signs, there's a reason for the areas you're not supposed to be swimming in- they're dangerous,” said Douglas.

With recent storms, Douglas says you never know what may be in the water. He says the safest option is to stay out of the rivers, streams or lakes all together.

“A lot of times when these waters rise they grab glass, power lines, and even when that water begins to recede you still don't want to enter these waters because you don't know what's underneath them,” said Douglas.

If you are swimming this summer, make sure you’re wearing a life jacket and you’re never in the water alone. 

Douglas says making sure metro residents are following these guidelines can help keep them and firefighters safe this summer.

“No firefighter wants to see this tragic event happen,” said Douglas.